Gray had planned to get two trustees to attend a California institute for student success, which was canceled because not enough other California intitutions wanted to participate. Instead, he, board President Virginia Blumenthal and Trustee Mary Figueroa will represent the district at an April 7 meeting Long Beach Community College to figure out what's wrong in California and why other community colleges aren't jumping at the chance to set policies that will increase student success. A state task force issued recommendations last year, many of which were already adopted by the Riverside-based district, which includes Riverside City, Moreno Valley and Norco colleges.

Student success is also part of Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal for community colleges, and funding is yet another reason Gray said colleges need to take it seriously.

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